Pilates and weight loss : are they a match made in heaven? As far as exercise routines go, pilates can be a beneficial addition to your weight loss plan, simply because it helps sculpt your muscles to be long and lean. Long, lean muscles means a slender, lithe figure.

Even better, when you have more lean muscle mass, you boost your metabolism and burn more calories, which means easier weight loss over the long run.

Pilates also has plenty of other great benefits, like improving your posture, breath control, muscle strength, physical endurance, and balance. Not to mention helping you get into great shape overall, which can’t help but boost your confidence and self-esteem!

There have been reports that Pilates and weight loss are NOT a good match because pilates isn’t rigorous enough, so you’ll burn fewer calories than you would running, kickboxing, or other high-intensity exercises.

That may be true to a degree, but burning calories isn’t the only important aspect of a workout routine. You also have to take into account your main goals in weight loss.

- Do you JUST want to slim down, or do you also want to strengthen your body?

- Do you JUST want to burn calories, or do you also want to get fit?

- Do you JUST want to drop a few sizes, or do you also want to reshape your body?

One of the major reasons why people love pilates is that it creates a slimming effect – making you look like you’ve lost more weight than you actually have. That’s not too surprising because lean muscle takes up less “room” on your body than fat, so you just look slimmer, even if the numbers on the scale haven’t budged much.

Finally, keep in mind that you don’t have to just stick with one type of exercise! There’s nothing wrong with doing pilates and running, or pilates and weight training , high-intensity aerobics and pilates, and so on.

Create a workout routine that works best for you in reaching your ultimate weight loss goals. If your goals include dropping pounds, slimming down, getting strong, lean, and toned, pilates and weight loss are a perfect match.